Well-established power distribution systems exist throughout most of the United States, and other countries, which provide power to customers via power lines. With some modification, the infrastructure of the existing power distribution systems can be used to provide data communication in addition to power delivery, thereby forming a power line communication system (PLCS). In other words, existing power lines that already have been run to many homes and offices, can be used to carry data signals to and from the homes and offices. These data signals are communicated on and off the power lines at various points in the power line communication system, such as, for example, near homes, offices; Internet service providers, and the like.
There are many challenges to overcome in order to use power lines for data communication. Power lines are not designed to provide high speed data communications and can be very susceptible to interference. Additionally, federal regulations limit the amount of radiated energy of a power line communication system, which therefore limits the strength of the data signal that can be injected onto power lines (especially overhead power lines). Consequently, due to the attenuation of power lines, communications signals typically will travel only a relatively short distance on power lines. In addition, the distance may vary from location to location.
In the past, utilities typically have sent personnel to manually read and record the meter data, which can be expensive. Automated meter reading has been investigated as a means for reducing the cost of reading meters. However, until now, there has been no economically feasible means of communicating the data to the utility. This fact, along with the cost of replacing old meters in a large geographical area, have hindered wide scale adoption of automated meter reading.
Thus, there is a need for a power line communications system and method that facilitates automated power meter reading and reliable communications of data signals that can be dynamically configured and reconfigured by a network management system. These and other advantages may be provided by various embodiments of the present invention.